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2.2 Are You Now or Have You Ever Been Wesley: "I've been accused of a great many things in my time, but paranoid has never been one of them. Unless people have been saying it behind my back." Of course, the title was a reference to the McCarthy era question, "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" Angel's investigation of the deserted Hyperion Hotel in the Heart of Hollywood included long flashbacks to the 1950s, with all of the 1950s prejudices and paranoia thrown in (the black family being turned away at the desk, the gay couple in the hallway, the writer accused of being a red). We had a bit of Ghostbusters, a bit of Imitation of Life (which was about passing as white), and a LOT of the 1955 classic movie, Rebel Without a Cause. I'm a movie buff; I was in Los Angeles last week interviewing for a job. One of the first touristy places I went was the Griffith Observatory where they shot several scenes in Rebel Without a Cause. And I was delighted to see that outdoor scene in this episode where Angel had a conversation with Judy ... was at the Griffith Observatory! (Now if only I had gone there a few weeks ago, and at night...) For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, we had (1) Angel wearing a white tee-shirt and a red windbreaker, like James Dean did in most of this movie (the hair was much the same, too); (2) "Judy" was also the name of the Natalie Wood character, and the actress who played Judy resembled Natalie Wood and had her hair done the same way; (3) in the movie *and* the episode, there was a show in the planetarium where the world ended; and (4) the James Dean character was seriously alienated and alone and in a new place, and somehow managed to connect with Natalie Wood, who was also alienated and alone. Ditto Angel and Judy. Angel was closed in and introverted during the flashbacks; he even creeped out the bellhop. At one point Judy said, "I'm not one thing or the other-- I'm nothing." And Angel replied, "I know what that's like." Angel and Judy were both half one thing and half another, belonging nowhere. Judy's death at the end was quite touching. This was a fascinating glimpse of Angel's past, with the intimation that if things hadn't gone so wrong, this might have been Angel's turning point -- 1952 instead of 1996. So now the new gang headquarters is the Heebie-Jeebie Hotel. What are they going to do with 68 rooms? Bits and pieces: -- That effect of Angel hanging in the lobby was awesome. Very well done. -- The thesselak paranoia demon sounded like Foghorn Leghorn to me. -- I loved the cinnamon Cordelia put in Angel's A poz. -- Was Cordy wearing a shirt made out of a Twister game? -- Interesting that Wesley and Gunn don't seem to be getting along. Not a surprise, though; that relationship just screams of conflict possibilities. I hope they follow through with that. I'll bet they do. Quotes: Angel: "I, um, I think its gone bad. It's starting to coagulate." Cordelia: "Huh? No. That's cinnamon. What, I can't try something?" Wesley: "Well. Now we know one thing for certain." Cordelia: "Yup. It's not that vampires don't photograph, it's just that they don't photograph well." Cordelia: "I for one will be glad to see the last of this place. Gives me the heebie-jeebies." Gunn: "No lie. Plus it kind of got an odor to it. You notice that?" Cordelia: "Seventy years of violence, mayhem and paranoia. Bad vibes." Angel: "We're moving in." Cordelia: "I mean, a few throw pillows, what's not to love?" Was this one a four? I haven't given Angel episodes many fours as yet, but this was an excellent episode and I think it deserved it. And I loved that whole thing with Rebel Without a Cause and the Griffith Observatory tie-in. Okay, four it is, Billie |
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